The sun's declination on day n of the year (Cooper's equation) is:
δ(n) = 23.45° · sin( 360°/365 · (284 + n) )
At solar noon, for a site at latitude φ, the sun's elevation angle and the beam-tilt angle that points a panel straight at the sun are:
Elevation α = 90° − |φ − δ(n)|
Optimal tilt β* = φ − δ(n) (clamped to 0°–90°)
Any panel actually mounted at tilt β misses the sun by an incidence angle θ = |(φ − δ(n)) − β|, and the fraction of direct beam it collects follows Lambert's cosine law:
Irradiance factor = cos(θ), clipped to 0 when θ ≥ 90°
- Fixed — one tilt held all year (the classic "tilt = latitude" rule of thumb, overridable with the manual slider).
- Seasonal (4×/year) — re-aimed once per quarter at that quarter's mid-point optimum.
- Monthly (12×/year) — re-aimed at the start of every month.
- Continuous tracking — re-aimed every single day, so θ = 0 and the factor stays at 1.0 — the theoretical ceiling every other schedule is measured against.
The annual yield chart integrates the daily irradiance factor across all 365 days for each schedule and expresses it as a percentage of the continuous-tracking total — the same trade-off real PV installers weigh between a cheap fixed rack and an expensive tracking mount.